


Rumors Are Dumb, And So Are You

by thinkingboutforever



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Coming Out, M/M, Underage - Freeform, but they are, not really theyre mostly like 17 and 16, they don't look like it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-01
Updated: 2015-02-13
Packaged: 2018-03-04 17:15:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3075242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thinkingboutforever/pseuds/thinkingboutforever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Geoff Fink wasn't one for rumors, he found them silly and stupid. Almost every single one he's heard was either fake or so pointless he felt like listening to it was a waste of time. Ironically enough, a rumor might turn out to be one of the best things that has happened to him. That and video games.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

  
Geoff wasn't one to envelop himself in rumors. Of course, his high school was infested with gullible and naive teenagers who could be tricked into believing leprechauns are real. He swore, it was like most of the school lived in the dark ages, hearing tales about the almighty Ariana Grande or something. He knew what it was like being the center of some petty rumors, it was only a few years ago when he was the new kid. Unfortunately, being the only Freshman to have sleeve tattoos drew a lot of attention to himself. Not that he didn't expect any of it, what he didn't expect was someone going up to him and asking if he was the head of some sort of drug cartel. He got over it after a while, overcoming the rumors and finding friends. Well, it was more of him being followed around by a group of people asking for his gamertag. Fast forward to the present, Junior Year, where he found himself paying attention whenever Joel and Kara go on about the latest gossip on the new algebra teacher or some cheerleader he had no idea or cared about. They were almost Seniors for fuck's sake, all that tittle-tattle should bore them. Still, he listened to every word with mild interest.  
  
  
Until the day he heard about the new kid.  
  
  
"His name is James Haywood and he came down from Georgia," Joel explained to him from across the table. Jack was sitting next to him and Kara sat on the other side, while Burnie sat across from Jack and Gus continued eating his slice of pizza from next to Geoff, who raised an eyebrow.   
  
  
"James Haywood? Sounds mysterious," Geoff humored them.  
  
  
"I know, he's pretty hot too," Kara added, looking at the back of James's head with a dreamy expression and ignoring the groans that she got in response. Geoff twisted around and caught a glimpse of who the blond was staring at. There, he saw a boy with a head full of light brown hair, which was blond in the right light. He had a jaw that looked sharp enough to cut anyone who touched it. The poor kid sat alone at a table on the far side of the cafeteria, he most likely haven't made any friends yet. Geoff felt kind of bad looking at the kid.   
  
  
"He's pretty good looking," Geoff agreed, turning his attention back to the sandwich he was eating. He didn't even raise it to his mouth before Joel was talking.   
  
  
"Rumor has it that he was a model before he transferred here," the elder had said, staring intently at the kid.  
  
  
"Don't get any ideas," Jack warned him, poking Joel's in the side playfully. His boyfriend in turn pinched his cheek and kissed it. Kara cooed at the two before pouting at Burnie.  
  
  
"Why can't I get a love like that," she sighed, dropping her face in her hands.  
  
  
"Maybe it's your annoying nature, some men just can't handle all that whining," Gus said sarcastically, getting a snort of laughter out of Burnie. Kara glared at the two, kicking her feet out and catching them both in the shins. The grunts of pain from the two grew a smile on her face.  
  
  
Geoff found himself glancing back at James's table, guilt washing over him as he saw the new kid sigh. The kid was staring down at his lap, it didn't even look like he moved from his spot since lunch started.  
  
  
"We should invite him over here," Geoff wondered as he turned back around, he was met with wide eyes staring at him. "What? He looks lonely."  
  
  
"I dare you to go up to him before the bell rings and ask him if he really was a model," Burnie said, standing up from the table to throw out his tray, everyone else following behind but Geoff. He stacked his tray on top of Burnie's and collected his Trigonometry binder.  
  
  
Burnie should've know better than to challenge Geoff, for he never backed down from a dare. The tattooed teen marched straight with his binder in hand and sat right across from James.  
  
  
"Hi," he boosted, giving the blond kid his best smile.  
  
  
"Hi," James replied, although he sounded uneasy. Geoff didn't notice however, too busy fidgeting with his hoodie.  
  
  
"Is it...is it true you used to model," the older teen asked looking James into the eyes. "I mean, I wouldn't be surprised."  
  
  
A blush dusted across James's cheeks as he averted his eyes away from Geoff. "Y-Yeah...it's true. Please don't tell anyone though, it's something I'd rather forget."  
  
  
Geoff swore he wouldn't, the kid probably didn't know that the fact was already circulating around the school. He was a little curious to what the other wanted to forget. Being so close to the kid now, he could see exactly how attractive he was.  
  
  
"I'm Geoff," he said, sticking his hand out for the other to shake. James looked warily at the hand before reaching out to shake it.  
  
  
"Ryan. My names really James but I prefer my middle name," Ryan introduced himself, giving Geoff a shy smile that he swore lit up the room. "Nice to meet you."  
  
  
"Nice to meet you too, Ryan," Geoff agreed, reflecting Ryan's smile with his signature grin. "Do you have your schedule on you? Maybe we got a class together."  
  
  
Ryan surrendered a folded piece of paper he had in his jeans to Geoff, who in turn scanned it.  
  
  
"We got Intro to Trig next and the last two periods, Chem and English, together," Geoff stated, handing the paper back. "I can walk you if you need me. I got Study Hall while you have History, so I can walk you from Trig."  
  
  
Ryan was silent for a while, looking at Geoff suspiciously. "Are you only being nice because I was a model or something?"  
  
  
"What? Dude no, I just want to help, I know what it's like being the new kid without any friends," Geoff explained, not wanting to get into what happened Freshman Year. He just didn't want Ryan to face the same fate he did being a loner.  
  
  
They sat quietly as Ryan analyzed what Geoff said. The bell rang before Ryan can respond, starling him. "Lunch is over already?"  
  
  
Geoff smiled at the question, deciding that the new guy seemed to trust him. "Yeah, they give us like 5 minutes to eat," he explained, standing up from the table.

  
"That's bullshit, we're growing teens! We need time to eat shitty cafeteria food," Ryan complained as he stood up from the table, cause the other teen to chuckle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first fanfiction on AO3! I wanna know what you guys think so leave comments or whatever. Thank you all for reading :)


	2. Chapter 2

Geoff learned a lot about Ryan in the short while they hung out. He found out that Ryan was into gaming, his gamertag, and that he was really into Halo. He thought that the information pretty interesting, turns out a golden child like Ryan, could be a giant nerd who's into computers and bungee games. Geoff, however, never mentioned a word about modeling to the kid in fear that he would scare him away. Instead, he spent the rest of the day assisting Ryan, showing the new kid around and giving him advice about everyone and everything. He went out of his way to save a seat next to him for Ryan in the classes they were in together, just so they could talk and work together. Oddly enough, Ryan was the one who helped Geoff whenever he was confused. Ryan, in turn, had a lot to ask about the people and area around them. Every question he had, Geoff had an answer. Ryan seemed to appreciate the help he was receiving, cracking jokes about how Geoff was his personal tour guide.

 

("Thank you for choosing the Ramsey Way, for your personal tour guide," he said, smiling as Ryan let out a bark of laugh.

 

"You're an idiot," the blond kid giggled, flashing a smile at Geoff.)

 

Geoff never had the chance to introduce Ryan to all his friends until last period. He walked into the Chemistry room with Ryan right behind him and was immediately hit upside the head by someone.

 

"Ow, what the hell," he hollered, meeting face to face with a (as usual) grumpy Gus.

 

"You spend all day with the new kid and you don't even bother introducing him to us," Kara nagged from behind Gus, who nodded his head in agreement. Geoff knew that she was more interested in maybe getting a chance with the new kid than his manners.

 

Kara was right though, it was the perfect time to introduce them all since Chemistry was the one class his whole group of friends were together.

 

"Okay, Christ," Geoff turned around to look at Ryan, who was stifling a laugh from under his hand.

 

"Ryan, this is Gus the ugly one, Kara the little sister, Burnie the asshole, Joel the weird one, and Jack the one with the fleshlight," Geoff said to get things rolling, pointing at everyone individually and receiving a slap on the arm from Jack.

 

They all took turns saying hello to Ryan, who seemed a little overwhelmed. Gus, Burnie, and Jack shook his hand while Kara gave him a sweet smile and a wink. Joel wasn't the best at meeting new people so he ended up giving Ryan an awkward high five and his typical goofy hello.

 

By the time they all met, the teacher walked into the classroom and announced for them to take their seats. On each desk, there were a pair of safety goggles, a plastic beaker full of hydrochloric acid, and a bowl with a few white rocks in it. Geoff didn't notice all the items until the two of them sat down.

 

"Guess we're doing a lab today," Geoff groaned.

 

"Good afternoon, guys and girls," the teacher, Mr. Polito, greeted the students.

 

"Good afternoon, Mr. Polito," the students chorused.

 

"Today, obviously, we got a lab to do," he said, getting a collection of groans and whines from kids. "I know, I know, screw you Mr. Polito, but first, we got a new kid! Why don't you stand up and introduce yourself."

 

Everyone turned to face Ryan, who stood slowly and fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. Whispers and mutters filled the room as he looked around the room, curious students all staring at him. His eyes landed on Geoff, who was giving him two thumbs up and a cheesy smile. The gesture made him smile sheepishly as all the nervousness he had melted away. Mr. Polito told him to go on after everyone quieted down.

 

"Um, hi, I'm Ryan, I came from Georgia, and I like computers, I guess," Ryan introduced himself, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets. Mutters erupted from the students, all wanting more information on the new kid.

 

"Were you really a model," a girl asked, twirling a strand of her hair with her finger.

 

Ryan's face flushed from the question, wide eyes looking at Geoff for help. The older teen thought quick, knocking off the beaker of clear liquid off the table.

 

The sound of the plastic hitting the floor distracted everyone from Ryan, who yelped as he jumped back from the acid. He glared at Geoff, who mouthed an apology to him.

 

Mr. Polito let out a curse under his breath as the floor began cackling. "Fucking marble floors, of course," he muttered, rushing to clean the floors with a roll of paper towels in his hand. Ryan glared at Geoff as he shuffled next to him and the tattooed teen just shrugged.

 

"You needed help," Geoff pointed at the mess. "I took drastic measures."

 

"It was a little dramatic, wasn't it," Ryan said, his cold stare cracking as he raised an eyebrow. Geoff just shrugged again.

 

* * *

   


"And no one has any idea you did this," Griffon said in disbelief between giggles, Geoff nodded before he remembered his was on his phone.

 

"Yeah, we ended up not doing the lab at all because he spent half of the class cleaning the floor," Geoff explained, chewing on a string of his hoodie. He's been sitting on the floor of his room playing video games since he got home, not even bothering to do his homework. He had a fairly long day and he figured there wasn't a better way to spend the rest of it than talking to best friend and playing some Halo. The senior on the other end had been watching TV in her living room, waiting for her phone to ring. Geoff had promised since Monday he would talk to her sometime in the week, he didn't remember to do it until 5 days later.

 

Griffon seemed to calm down on the other line, still pretty amused by the whole story. Geoff heard her tapping at her smartphone through the noise of his TV. "Are you texting my replacement?"

 

"Oh shut up, it's just Gavin," she said, he could hear her smile through the phone. "I should say the same thing about your new BFF."

 

"Who, Ryan? I took him under my wing," Geoff made clear, grinning into the phone. "He's pretty cool, but he can never replace you."

 

"Awww, Geoff" she cooed, pausing her texting to get the full extent of being shocked. "That was so gay!"


	3. Chapter 3

A week past and another Monday was there even faster than Geoff could turn off his X-Box. He spent most of it playing online with Ryan and talking to Gavin and Griffon whenever they called. He missed them a lot, after meeting Griffon and Gavin in elementary they were pretty much his only friends. That was until the end of 8th grade where they all found out they were moving. Gavin to England back to where he came from, Griffon to Dallas, and Geoff to Austin. It was heartbreaking news to the young kids, they promised they would never lose contact with each other, a promise they keep all the way up to high school. Unfortunately, Griffon is the only one out of them all who could drive, but even then the drive from Austin to Dallas is a 3 hour drive her parents would never let her go on and Gavin, who was in "Year 10" ("What ever the fuck that means," Geoff muttered over the phone to him, after the brit tried explaining the British school system to him), had to finish school before his parents would even consider helping him get his visa, they didn't hang out face to face, unless they were on Skype.  
  
  
The moment he sat down on the bus next to Gus, he was pretty much knocked out with nothing on his mind. He just wanted the week to blow over fast. The first two periods seemed to whiz over Geoff's head as he stared mindlessly ahead of the classrooms. All he could think about was seeing Ryan again and talking to him.  
  
  
"Hey stranger," Ryan said to Geoff when he walked out of the classroom, smiling as he poked the other teen's arm.   
  
  
"Hey," Geoff said cooly, grinning back at his friend.

  
The two looked away from each other for a while, standing awkwardly in front of the classroom before one of them spoke again.  
  
  
"So...you wanna just go to the library," Geoff offered, linking their arms together and blushing slightly. "We aren't supposed to eat in there, but I know a spot where the librarian won't see you, since she doesn't get up from the desk."  
  
  
Ryan's eyes flicked between Geoff and their linked arms before he smiled sheepishly and nodded.

  
At that moment, Geoff realized that everyone who was in the hallways turned to look at the two. Sure, many were already drooling over at the new kid, but as soon as a few people noticed Ryan was linking arms with the weird kid, more seemed to look too. Geoff knew he wasn't exaggerating too, the bell was about to ring and there were only a few teenagers still lingering the hallways. Geoff couldn't say he was embarrassed though, Ryan's oblivious happiness as he went off about how he talked to a friend he had back home, it soothed any anxiety he had and replaced it with a warm buzz. He almost felt as if he was drinking rays of fucking sunshine.  
  
  
The two of them reached the libary after stopping at their lockers to get the stuff they needed for Chemistry. Geoff may or may not have felt his side become ten times colder as Ryan finally broke away to open the door, but the smile the other teen gave him as they sat down at a table near the far back was even more rewarding.

   
They ate first, talking quietly about what they've done over the weekend. Ryan and Geoff sat there for at least 30 minutes going over material he didn't quite understood. Geoff didn't exactly wanted to be holed up in there talking about stupid shit like KaKb = Kw (which Geoff noted it as the stupidest shit he's ever heard, receiving a roar of laughter from Ryan) but he insisted that he didn't mind. They sat there close to each other, sharing one book even if they both brought theirs. Geoff often glanced back at the other, admiring how fluently he talked about the subject and how fascinated he seemed by it. It was amazing to Geoff that someone so...extremely hot, can be extremely smart too.  
  
  
Ryan gave it a rest 10 minutes before the bell rang. They both packed up their stuff and sat on the table.   
  
  
"You've been really quiet, are you okay," Ryan asked, very concerned by the looks of it. Geoff looked back at Ryan speechless, his cheeks flushing as he struggled to respond.  
  
  
"Uh, I-I'm fine, dude," Geoff assured him, averting his eyes and staring everywhere but in Ryan's eyes. Geoff saw from the corner of his eyes as Ryan raised an eyebrow and smirked.   
  
  
"If you say so," he said, rubbing a hand on Geoff's lower back. The darker haired teen knew the gesture was completely platonic, but he couldn't stop himself from blushing even harder than he previously was. Luckily for him, the bell rang and he never got up out of his seat quicker.

 

* * *

  
  
Geoff went home and immediately headed for his room. He didn't even stop to greet his parents as he rushed to upstairs and jumped on his bed, sitting with his legs crossed as he opened his neglected laptop. The first thing he did when he got on the bus was shoot a text to both Gavin and Griffon, asking them both if they could get online. The answered fairly quickly, both agreeing, to Geoff's relief  
  
  
The program was already running when Geoff opened his computer, clicking the call group button in a hurry.  
  
  
"So, there's this dude," was the first thing that came out of his mouth, silencing the others. "He's a really, really cool dude."  
  
  
"Cool enough that you wanna stick it in him," Gavin asked jokingly, as he seemed to scroll through his phone. There was a beat of silence before he looked up curiously. "Geoff?"  
  
  
"Wait, really," Griffon inquired with a sudden interest. Geoff blushed furiously as he tried to construct a sentence. "Is this your new best friend you told me about? I fucking knew it!"  
  
  
"What guy? He never told me about a guy,"  Gavin squawked to Griffon, putting his phone down and getting comfortable in his bed. Griffon told the confused Brit everything he told her about Ryan, not without interjecting a few times, of course. Let's just say, the term "I never fucking said that" was said at least 30 times by Geoff over the span of 5 minutes.  
  
  
"So, what made you want to stick your dick in him," Griffon wandered with her cheek in hand, Geoff could see her stupid smirk even through the decent wifi his house had.  
  
  
"Well--" Geoff started, chuckling as he heard Gavin commenting on how it was Ryan's lovely blue eyes, "No--well, partially. I'm actually not sure. All I know is that I really like him."  
  
  
Both Griffon and Gavin began to aww and Geoff found himself blushing so hard he could see the heat radiating off his cheeks. "Fuck you guys, I need your help on what I should do and you're awwing at me like a couple of Justin Bieber fans."

"So does this mean you're gay or," Gavin asked after a while, causing Geoff's eyebrows furrowed together in thought.   
  
  
"Wow, I never even thought about that," he said as he registered the thought. There was a moment of silence as the other two turned away from the screen. "I still like tits and stuff."  
  
  
"Tits and stuff," Gavin repeated under his breath, chuckling at the ridiculousness of the statement. "Have you considered that maybe you're bisexual?"  
  
  
"Dude, I'm too old for that. A better term would be whysexual," Geoff said with a grin, getting Griffon to snort a laugh and Gavin to giggle. He waited for the two to come down from the joke before saying anything. "So...what do you guys think I should do about this?"  
  
  
"Well, since you don't know anything about this guys, maybe you should see if he likes guys before doing anything drastic," Griffon suggested as she turned her attention back to her TV.   
  
  
Geoff shook his head viciously, that was getting into dangerous waters. He wasn't exactly sure how Ryan would react to Geoff coming out to him. He was from Georgia, one of the most homophobic states he could think of. Then again, he was in Texas. Not only could a get a punch to the face, but coming out could also make him a target for bullying again. "Hell motherfucking no. Gavin, you got a better idea? Gavin?"  
  
  
"What Griffon said," the younger lad replied, not even looking up from his phone. Geoff groaned loudly out of frustration, glaring at his computer screen as he leaned against the bedroom wall.   
  
  
"You guys are the worst," he complained, voice cracking as he crossed his arms across his chest.   
  
  
"Look Geoff, I'm not much of a big help here. Usually, guys would ask me out. Maybe you should just flirt with him and wait it out, I don't know," Gavin put out, looking up from his phone and at Geoff. The inked teen thought about what the lad said, wondering if he should really listen to him. Well, it was either possibly getting punched in the face for being bisexual or possibly getting punched in the face for flirting. One thing's for sure, Gavin's suggestion didn't suck as much dicks as they usually do.  
  
  
"I think I'll go Gavin's way with this," Geoff sighed, ignoring Griffon's faint _"aww what?"_  as he thought up of ways to bring being sort of gay up in a casual conversation with Ryan.  
  
  
"What if he moves on because he thought you didn't like him though," Griffon asked him as she turned her attention back from whatever show she was watching.  
  
  
"Good question." Geoff went quiet as he thought before responding. "I would personally fly to England to punch Gavin in the face."

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the delay but I haven't had my laptop for a while now so i had to do all of this at my friends house  
> anyways enjoy :)

There comes a time in everybody's life where they have something that makes them so nerve-wracking happen to them that they become speechless.  
  
  
Ryan hand jogged up the hall to catch up to him after last period, throwing an arm around the older teen to stop him. Geoff was slightly worried about getting on his bus, but he still stopped to hear what the younger kid had to say, how could he not? He didn't have the heart to brush Ryan off and tell him that he'll text him later, the blond had puppy dog eyes that could beat Puss in Boots. After Ryan's breath evened out, he stood straight and asked Geoff is he wanted to hang out at his house.  
  
  
That's when Geoff realized, this was one of those moments.  
  
  
He stood there looking back at Ryan, who's posture deflated after Geoff didn't respond after a while. He started fidgeting with the straps of his book bag as his eyes flickered from the ground back to Geoff and his eyes widen when he realized that Ryan was _nervous._  
  
  
James Ryan Haywood, used-to-be part-time model, was nervous about asking Geoff Fink, smartass, teenage delinquent, over to his house.  
  
  
He felt flattered at first but then panicked as Ryan started slowly about how he should have never asked.  
  
  
"No! I'll...I'll go! I want to," he assured him, nodding frantically as he slung his bag over his shoulder. The buses were long gone now, and the hallway monitors were sure to come around any minute to tell them to get to detention, they both knew it.  
  
  
Ryan's reaction made Geoff the happiest person in the world, the younger teen turned into an actual ray of sunshine at his respond and it made the nervousness on both sides crumble down.  
  
  
"Great, I don't like far from here, not a long walk," Ryan rushed, linking their arms together like they've done before. "Shall we?"  
  
  
Geoff pulled a face at the choice of word, nodding as he started walking towards the lobby of the school. "You're such a dork, Haywood."  
  
  
"I aim to please, Geoffrey."

 

* * *

  
  
The minute Ryan turned them into his driveway, Geoff started gawking at how huge the house was. It was a perfect mix of a mansion and a regular suburban home that had Geoff speechless.  
  
  
"Dude, I didn't know you were freaking _rich_ ," he hissed, hitting Ryan lightly in the stomach. Ryan just shrugged, turning his key in the door and walking in. Geoff followed behind him and instantly marveled at how beautiful the place was.  
  
  
There was a little opening with stairs straight down the middle, separating the small hall that led into the kitchen from the huge living room with a hardwood floor, a couple of cream colored couches, and a flat screen hooked up to the wall. Geoff almost felt small at how big the house was, he wasn't that short than Ryan, but he knew exactly which on of them could touch the ceiling with little trouble (and it sure as hell wasn't him).  
  
  
Ryan gestured for him to come up the stairs, and like a lost puppy, Geoff followed. Ryan's room was basically to the right of the stairs, the first room down a hall. The room wasn't huge, but it wasn't small either. There was a neatly made bed with baby blue sheets snug in the left corner of the room and right next to the window opposite of the door. The other side of the room had a median sized dresser and a desk with a laptop on top of it, along with books and papers. In the middle of the two was a night stand holding TV, smaller than the one Geoff saw downstairs. The room was painted white and, unlike the rest of the house, had a carpeted floor.  
  
  
"Welp." Ryan went to stand in the middle of the room with his arms out, a sheepish grin on his face. "This is my room." He dropped his hands to his side and shoved them into his pockets. "Sorry if it's kind of messy in here. Make yourself at home, I guess."  
  
  
"Holy fuck man," Geoff managed, dropping his beg at the foot of the desk and moving to sit down on his bed. "You're room is cool as dicks."  
  
  
"Not sure if that's a good thing," Ryan said, and at that second all the tension bled out of his body as a grin tugged at his lips. Geoff eyes became hooked on the X-Box next to the TV and he gasped.  
  
  
"Please tell me you don't have any homework," he asked, practically buzzing as he saw the pillars of games on the dresser.  
  
  
Something flashed in Ryan's gaze, something warm, as he looked at Geoff, chuckling as he shook his head.  
  
  
"I knew you were using me for video games."

 

* * *

  
  
Geoff and Ryan spent a lot of time cycling through games as Geoff found a game he liked more than the last. They finally settled on taking turns on Peggle, Geoff getting over excited over a win and Ryan laughing at him when he does. The teen noticed that he wasn't doing it to be mean, there was something mirroring fondness as he watched Geoff whoop and holler over the game. Over time, however, they both calmed down and turned off the X-Box, sitting next to each other on the bed doing homework.  
  
  
"Dude, what the fuck even was that," Geoff groaned, slamming the book close after they both finished their homework. "I swear this homework is just to fuck us over."  
  
  
"Yeah, sometimes it's like that," Ryan sympathized with him, averting his eyes away from Geoff to his phone. "I can take homework, but fucking five minutes to eat? That's bullshit." Geoff looked over at him with a curious gaze, wondering exactly how Ryan would react to...dudes fucking dudes. Not that he would want to do that to him, even if he was really, _really_  hot. Suddenly the inked teen remembered about the conversation that happened a week ago between him, Gavin, and Griffon. _Now's my chance_ , he thought, fidgeting with the sheets below him.  
  
  
"Would you like...care if maybe I liked that? Wait, not being fucked in the ass--" _Abort, abort._ "I meant like if I liked guys, fuck, I fucked up."

  
By the end of his babbling, Geoff's face was as red as a tomato and he was struggling not to jump out the window right then and there. The other teen seemed surprised, but also amused. Geoff wanted to kiss--or wipe--the smirk off his lips.  
  
  
 _Well, at least he wasn't disgusted_ , Geoff thought bitterly.  
  
  
"Honestly," Ryan started after a while, still amused at how flushed Geoff was," it would be pretty hypocritical if I found a problem with it all, you know, since I like dudes too."  
  
  
Geoff let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, his tense shoulders sinking with relief. He was still embarrassed, but at least he wasn't embarrassed _and_  black and blue. The two shared a smile before moving on from the topic, both of them realizing how awkward it was in the first place.

 

* * *

  
  
"So he's bi, now what?" Geoff waited for the weekend to talk to his friends. He couldn't go to Burnie, Gus, or Jack about it because, knowing them, Kara or Joel would find out and his life would be ruined. Not that they would tell anybody, but someone else's crush is always good blackmail. He sat on his bed, eyes flickering between Gavin and Griffon on the screen in front of him. He was waiting for anything to be said, literally anything, as the other two thought about things to say. He knew from the beginning figuring out Ryan's sexuality was only half the battle, but he didn't think he'd spend most of his time planning his strategy.   
  
  
He waited for some more time before Gavin let out a sigh and Griffon shrugged. He whined.  
  
  
"Maybe you should just like, wait or something," Griffon said, Geoff could hear her fingers pressing keys on her keyboard. Gavin hummed, texting who Geoff assumed to be his boyfriend Dan.   
  
  
"That sounds like a shitty idea," Geoff muttered, rubbing his cheek as he thought it over. He couldn't just straight up go up to Ryan and ask him out. Well, he could, but knowing himself he'd probably say something wrong and get punched in the face.   
  
  
"Just wait a while and see what happens, yeah? I'm sure he likes you," Gavin advised him, it did little to calm him worries but a little bit of tension fell from his shoulders.  
  
  
"Maybe," Geoff said, dropping his face in his chin and sighing. He wasn't sure when, or how, but he really wanted to date Ryan and do it _right._


	5. Chapter 5

It was weeks later when Geoff finally met one of Ryan's other friends, a bubbly redhead Ryan had taken a liking too. As a junior, Geoff didn't really know a lot about the sophomore but she apparently knew a lot about him through Ryan. Ryan had been out that day sick and he and Lindsay were supposed to go to his house after school with a thermos full of soup and a few blankets stuffed in his bookbag for him. Geoff didn't know about her until Ryan texted him apologizing for her if she got too much for his old ass, to which Geoff started responding to the blond with a "?" He was at his locker shrugging on his backpack when a short chubby girl with hair as red as fresh apples and fire hydrants.   
  
  
"You're Geoff, right?" Geoff looked up from his locker, eyes knitted together with confusion as he closed it.  
  
  
Geoff sent the message before putting his phone away, pointing at the shorter girl with a tilt of his head. "I'm guessing you're Lindsay?"   
  
  
The girl (who he assumed was the one Ryan was talking about) was absolutely beautiful, Geoff wondered if the two knew each other maybe from modeling jobs they've done together.  
  
  
"In the flesh," Lindsay flashed him a toothy grin that seemed to calm any of his concerns with her being a nuisance, she seemed pretty nice so far. They stood there for a second, Lindsay scuffing her shoes on the floor and looking around before sighing. "So are we walking or not? I don't know about you but I kind of wanna get out of this hellhole."   
  
  
Geoff let out a bark of laughter at her words, closing his locker and nodding. "Yeah, don't worry, I'm done here."   
  
  
The two of them walked out of the school and was met with cold harsh winds that made their faces sting. It was no wonder why Ryan got sick in weather like this.   
  
  
"Jesus, it's cold," Lindsay hissed, bringing the sleeves of her sweatshirt over her hands and shoving them in her pockets. Geoff felt like an asshole having her walk beside him without a proper jacket on, so he slipped his off and handed it to her. Lindsay took it immediately as she saw it, muttering a small "hell yeah, thanks" as she put it on. Geoff could have sworn he heard her say something along the lines of "no wonder Ryan likes you so much" but he dismissed it as like in a friend way. He still blushed though, and when Lindsay brought it up he passed it off as the cold.   
  
  
They walked a for a little while in silence, Geoff trying not to seem too cold as Lindsay huddled in his jacket that seemed to swallow her up as the wind kept blowing. When the two of them turned down Ryan's block, Lindsay finally opened her mouth again.  
  
  
"How did you meet Ryan," she asked while stepping over a clump of snow on the ground.   
  
  
"Well my two friends, Kara and Joel, they were talking about the rumors they heard about a week after he came here so I just walked up to him and started talking to him," he didn't go much into detail since there wasn't much to it, but she still seemed to want to hear more about it as she took her hand out of her (his) pocket and made a hand motion to go on. "That's it really, not much to it."   
  
  
"Oh," she said, adjusting the strap of her bag. "That's cool, Ry and I went to the same summer camp in Milwaukee a few years ago. Our parents sent us there for the summer and we just hit it off. Best of friends. Then when the summer ended we wrote letters to each other and we haven't stopped talking since. I guess we were like pen pals for a while before I finally got a cell phone. I helped him and his family moved in, but I haven't been here since."   
  
  
They continued on the street quietly until she started giggling. "I remember we dated for like a month and it was a disaster."   
  
  
"Dated?" Geoff tried to keep the strain out of his voice as his heart jumped to his throat, praying to the gods above that there were no lingering feelings between the two.   
  
  
"Yeah, but don't get your panties in a twist, my friend. He's all yours," from the corner of his eye, Geoff saw Lindsay wink at him before she walked ahead of him up Ryan's driveway, leaving him to shove his hands in his jeans pocket as he became completely flushed with embarrassment.   
  
  
"Ry-bread, I'm home!" Lindsay knocked on Ryan's front door rapidly. The two of them heard some shuffling before Ryan crooked out a weak "come in." Lindsay pushed the door open and took off her shoes, had Geoff not know any better, it would've seemed like she came here all the time.   
  
  
"I'm upstairs," Geoff cringed as he heard Ryan more clearly now that he was inside, he took off his shoes and made a beeline upstairs to Ryan's room. The elder teen pushed the door open, his heart dropped when he saw the sight of Ryan curled up in a small blanket, a box of tissues next to him, a full trash can of used tissues. Ryan was tapping away at his x-box controller, bright red nose and bags under his eyes.   
  
  
"Jesus Ryan," Lindsay frowned as he sat down next to him, feeling the thin fabric of the blanket before going into her bag and wrapping a thicker one around him. "You look like shit, man."   
  
  
"Thanks," he muttered back, his voice was definitely gone and replaced with a horrible raspiness that made Geoff wince. "God, you sound horrible," Geoff pitied, sitting on the opposite of Ryan and fishing for the thermos out of his bag. He handed it to Ryan, who said a soft thank you after pausing the game and settling his controller down. It sounded like it hurt and both Lindsay and Geoff cringed.  
  
  
They sat there in silence, Ryan sipping the soup Geoff gave him and the other two too scared to say anything in fear of having Ryan break his vocal cords responding.   
  
  
When Ryan was done he put the thermos on the floor and sighed, sliding himself closer to Geoff to lean his head on his shoulder and dragging Lindsay closer to him too. When he was completely surrounded by his best friends, Ryan picked up the controller and unpaused his game, which Geoff recognized as Mass Effect, and started playing again almost as if nothing happened. The position was entirely comfortable for Geoff, but the feeling of Ryan practically in his lap was so great he forgot about the possibility of getting sick and rested his own head on Ryan's.  
  
  
"I missed you guys," he said, his voice sounding a little bit better from when Geoff came earlier. Lindsay grinned at Geoff from over Ryan's shoulder and he smiled back being happy with how the situation turned out even if Ryan was sick and Lindsay was preventing them from alone time. Maybe she was his good luck charm and he was definitely planned to keep her around.


End file.
